Soumitra Chatterjee to be awarded D.Litt. by Kolkata's Presidency University

September 5, 2018

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee will be conferred an Honorary D. Litt. by the prestigious Presidency University of Kolkata. The decision was taken at the meeting of the university’s governing council. D.Litt. is an academic degree that is awarded to people to recognize their achievement and contribution in the field of humanities and creative arts. Chatterjee will be given the D.Litt. at the convocation ceremony of the university that will be held on September 11.

The legendary actor started his career in auteur Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar in 1959. He went on to give a significant number of films with Ray that include Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri, Sonar Kella, Ghare Baire, Shakha Proshakha and Kapurush among others that went to achieve cult status over the years.

He has also worked with legendary filmmakers like Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar. In a career spanning over siz deacdes, the actor has proved his versatility time and again with his film choices. He is one of those rare actors who is known for foraying into both commercial and parallel cinema with equal ease. Some of the prominent films in his recent oeuvre include Bela Sheshe, Praakton, Posto and Mayurakshi. He has also done substantial work in television and theatre.

In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In 2004, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In 2012, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution in the field of cinema. He also received France’s highest military and civilian order of merit, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French Government.

He will next be seen in the comedy-drama-mystery film Anindya Chatterjee’s Manojder Adbhut Bari.